Discussing targets set for 2011-15 with the Ministry of Contruction,Hai pointed out that weaknesses in urban area management, the lowquality of urban areas, unstable development of the real estate marketand inconsistency in construction regulations need to be addressed.
In the next five years, Hai stressed that planning remained one stepahead of population growth and the increasing demand for accommodationin rural and urban areas.
Suitable regulations are alsoneeded to mobilise the maximum amount of social resources forinfrastructure implementation, he added.
Minister ofConstruction Nguyen Dinh Dung said that during the next five years, thesector will focus on improving the quality of construction materialproduction industries and construction equipment manufacturing whileexpanding construction markets abroad.
At the same time,it will make all efforts to develop urban infrastructure systems,including transportation networks as well as water supply and solidwaste treatment facilities.
The ministry would continueits rural planning programmes as scheduled, which will be a fulcra forsocio-economic development and narrowing the gap between rural and urbanareas.
Plans are currently underway for the ministry toactively cooperate with relevant authorities in inspecting people'sabidance by legal documents of investment, housing development and realestate business to timely detect speculation and price distortionactivities.
The construction sector has done much to cutpublic investment, save expenditure, boost social housing programmes andstabilise the materials market, Dung said.
Currently, theaverage house size per capita is 18.3 sq.m, while 77 percent of urbanresidents have access to clean water, he added.
To date,the production value of ministerial enterprises has been estimated tohave reached 100 trillion VND (4.7 billion USD), a rise of 10.3 percentover the same period last year./.